


Deep Freeze

by allixiler



Category: The Outer Worlds (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:35:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27055771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allixiler/pseuds/allixiler
Summary: A cold mishap and a warm talk with the vicar.
Relationships: Female Captain & Maximillian DeSoto, Female Captain/Maximillian DeSoto
Kudos: 19





	Deep Freeze

**Author's Note:**

> The worst title and summary I've ever written.

The faint chattering of her teeth could be heard from Felix and Parvati as they followed closely behind their captain. The shakes and shivers from her body were visible as she used all of her energy to trek back to The Unreliable. Freezing water dripped from her head and her soaked clothes as her body temperature dropped with each passing minute. It also didn’t help that it was wintertime on Monarch, the frosty air not helping the esteemed captain’s predicament. 

They had been in Fallbrook when she got into a heated scuffle with one of the SubLight patrons stationed there. The argument quickly turned physical, Felix and Parvati backing her up. While in combat, Felix mistakenly ran into her, causing her to fall backwards and land into the cold lake that was filled by Fallbrook’s infamous waterfall. Felix and Parvati basically jumped the guy, beating him enough to get him to back down and leave them be. 

The water was like sharp needles on her skin the second she made contact with it. The sting of the water made her lungs contract quickly which prompted her to come thrashing up for air. Felix desperately lifted her from the water, fully convinced that there was no way he’d have a job after this. He had muttered a panicked apology over and over until he was sure she was relatively okay. She began ringing out as much water as she could before it completely sunk into her skin. Little clouds of mist surrounded her as the chilly water leaked from her frame. She knew she was at serious risk of hypothermia, she and her selected crew hightailed it back to the ship back in Stellar Bay. Water didn’t seem to miss an inch of her. She was quite literally soaked from her head to her toes. She stripped herself of her heavier clothing items that were heavy with water, hoping that it would keep some of the chilliness from sticking around.

Felix had taken it upon himself to take off his long-sleeved shirt that he usually wore under his vest and wrapped it around her. It helped a little, but she needed to get to some real warmth as soon as possible. Her boots squished on the uneven Monarch terrain the whole way, another reminder of how cold she really was.

They finally reached the ship, her fingers trembling so much that she could barely open the airlock. She was met with a blast of heat as she entered, which was a relief, but she feared her inner temp had gotten too low for it to be of any assistance. Parvati immediately was at her feet, unlacing her boots and getting her wet socks off of her feet. Felix ran upstairs, hollering for Ellie as if the captain was about to croak at any moment. ADA welcomed them as always and she struggled to speak to her favorite automated system. Her words were stuttered and quavery;

“ADA, t-turn up the h-heat, please. I’m f-freezing.” She chattered from where she stood. 

“Yes, Captain. Enhancing the ship’s temperature.” ADA chimed back.

The roar of the heating system could be heard anywhere in the ship. It was music to her ears.

Felix’s borrowed shirt was now just as wet as her remaining clothes, so she let it fall to the floor in the small puddle from her slow dripping. She was down to her undershirt and pants now, the heat feeling like nothing on her skin. The rest of the crew came running down the stairs, wondering what the hell Felix had been squabbling about. 

“What the hell happened?” Ellie questioned, springing into action when she saw just how pale and clammy the captain’s skin was. She immediately pulled her hands away when she felt the temperature of her body; “Law! Did you go fucking swimming?”

“I’ll say. Her whole body’s shaking like a stunned rapt!” Nyoka claimed from the staircase.

Felix was a blabbering mess. He felt absolutely terrible. It was his fault that this happened. He had grown so fond of her and he never wanted anything bad to happen to her. Especially if it was his fault. He tried his best and sometimes he just felt like such a screw up. He also knew he’d get his ass chewed out by Max for letting this happen. Trying to ease the tension and keep her crew from worrying, she attempted to make a joke;

“I w-went for a little d-dip.” She said mustering a smile and a chuckle.

Everybody was amused at her playful banter, except for Max and Felix. Felix was hysterical;

“I swear I didn’t see you behind me. I was running for cover and-”

“Your fucking idiocy has put the captain in danger,” Max hissed, moving to corner Felix; “What the fuck were you the thinking?”

Usually, Felix would be quick to defend himself and his intelligence, but he knew he royally screwed up this time. 

“Max, I didn’t mean to,” He pleaded; “Boss, I’m so sorry.”

Max stepped even closer to Felix, his fists clenching at his sides;

“I’ll give you something to be sorry about.” He growled lowly.

Now she cut in to this altercation, diffusing the situation before it escalated. Ellie was checking her for any external signs of hypothermia;

“It w-was an accident, M-Max. He d-didn’t mean t-to.” She said still shaking violently. 

Before either of the boys could reply, Ellie asked her previous question;

“What exactly happened?”

Parvati stepped in;

“A SubLight worker got into it with Captain. We were fighting him off when Felix knocked her into the lake,” She explained; “It must’ve been cold something awful the way she came barreling out of there.” 

“I don’t see any real signs of hypothermia. I think you made it back just in time. You need to get warm as soon as possible, but very gradually. Vicar, take all the blankets from the rooms upstairs and put them in hers. She’s gonna need them,” Ellie ordered, turning her attention back to the Captain; “For now, we need to get you dry.”

Parvati seconded her assessment;

“I’ll get you some dry clothes. Okay, Captain?” 

She nodded at the sound of that. Dry clothes and a warm bed had never sounded so good.

“F-Felix, d-don’t worry yourself. We’re g-good. Get s-some rest.” She reassured the finnicky tossball fanatic.

His nervous rocking stilled and a little color returned to his face. Looks like he wouldn’t be losing his job after all;

“Oh...thanks, Boss. I’m really sorry.” He apologized for the thousandth time.

With Ellie on her left and Nyoka on her right, they escorted the Captain up the stairs into the bathroom where she completely stripped off all her clothes. Nyoka began drying her hair to get it as dry as possible. Ellie worked with her shivering as she wiped any remaining water from her body. Parvati returned with dry clothes: comfortable pants, a long sleeved shirt, and insulated socks.

The Captain dressed quickly, sighing loudly at the feeling of warmth surrounding her. Ellie tossed the wet clothes and towels aside for SAM to wash later;

“Feeling better?” She asked exiting the bathroom behind her.

The shaking was casually fading, but Ellie said it would take a little while to completely stop. She was starting to feel normal again, her words and sentences becoming fluid again;

“Yeah, I am. Thanks, girls.” She said thanking Ellie and Nyoka. 

“Anytime, Cap. Just stay away from any lakes for awhile.” Nyoka said heading off to her room for the night.

“Don’t mention it. You’ll need to take your temperature again in a little bit. Just yell if you need me, yeah?” Ellie said also retreating to her quarters.

In her socked feet, the Captain padded down a level to her room. Max was waiting with blankets and a very inviting bed. She wasted no time snuggling next to him as he draped the blankets over her, practically swaddling her. He could still feel the chilly nature of her body with her contracting muscles.

“You’re still freezing.” He stated.

“Really? Hadn’t noticed.” She bantered.

He was like a personal heater underneath her. He had always said that he tended to be warmer than the average person. His body felt like a life saver in this moment. She clung to him even closer, his arms rubbing up and down hers to create more friction.

“You’re so warm.” She happily whimpered.

Max chuckled, but quickly returned to his previous frustration;

“Mr. Millstone is reckless.” He spat.

She could hear his heartbeat thumping in his chest as he got himself riled up again. She knew this was coming.

“Max...” She warned.

“He fails to think his actions through. Today was just another example of how irresponsible he is.” He ranted on.

She shifted her head to where she was looking up at him. She had a bit of annoyance pinging her at his statement. Felix was a damn hard worker and he always looked out for the crew. It was an accident. An honest mistake. It ended up not being as big of a deal as she had originally anticipated.

“He didn’t mean to. We all get a little disorganized sometimes. You need to give Felix a break,” She corrected him; “The important thing is that we all made it out okay and I’m here now.”

Max sighed. He knew she was right. He was just so protective over her. He never wanted her to be hurt or directly in harm’s way. But it was inevitable. So when it did happen, he always felt the need to put the blame on someone or something. He shifted his body to be completely laid out with her, one of his legs lifted with his foot flat on the mattress;

“You’re right. I suppose I sometimes am too harsh on him.” He admitted.

“You should be more inviting with him. Have a drink or two with him.” She suggested.

“Yes, Captain.” He replied sarcastically.

She lifted her head from his shoulder briefly to look him in the eye;

“I’m serious! You could learn just as much from him as he could from you,” She stated; “I want my crew to be on good terms with one another.”

He chuckled slightly;

“[Y/N], I don’t dislike Mr. Millstone. Oddly enough I do find him rather entertaining at times,” He confessed; “I didn’t mean to give off a different impression.”

“I just never thought I’d have a crew of my own...let alone be a captain,” She spoke in a hushed tone. She rested her head back on his chest; “I was suddenly thrown into this captain thing, you know? Anything that happens to my crew is my responsibility.”

Max’s tone changed as the sudden conversational turn. He knew that being a captain put a lot of stress on her. Who wouldn’t be stressed with that kind of pressure? The crew loved her dearly. She was a mentor to Parvati and Felix. A sister to Ellie and Nyoka. An instructor to ADA and SAM. A soulmate to Max.

At the end of the day, she was one of the most important people in everyone’s lives. Although, that didn’t help with her stress and workload. She found comfort in it though. To have a support system...a family to fall back on. She continued on;

“I think about what’s going to happen when this mission is over...the good or the bad outcome,” She whispered; “Parvati’s already said she’ll stay on Groundbreaker. Ellie and Nyoka will likely go on their own way. SAM will obviously stick around here. Law only knows where Felix’s gonna end up. And you...”

A hot rise in her throat completely cut her off. The thought of Max leaving was unbearable. After all, she’d still be the captain of The Unreliable until her last day. She’d probably spend the rest of her days bopping from planet to moon to asteroid working jobs for SubLight. She often wondered where Max would go when all this was over...she prayed that he wouldn’t leave. He had come to terms with his whole I-wasted-my-life-looking-for-answers-that-weren’t-there-thing but he still had his own questions to solve and messages to spread. The Plan still applied to him. Her only hope was that The Plan kept her in his path. She didn’t have to say it. Max could read her like a book. He looked down into her worried eyes;

“My dear captain...oh, my darling,” He spoke deeply; “I’m not going anywhere when this is over. The Plan brought me to you for a reason and I’m damn thankful for it. I’d be a fool to leave you behind. I’ll forever be a part of this ship...if you’ll have me, Captain.” He purred.

She giggled, relief washing over her. She craned her neck to look up at him;

“Of course. As long as you don’t try to recruit me to OSI.” She joked.

He snorted at her comment;

“No need to worry about that. No offense, but they wouldn’t take you.” He truthfully stated.

She sat up and turned to look at him with an offended smirk, his hands resting on her hips;

“Are you saying I’d make a lousy woman of the cloth?” She asked.

He shrugged;

“Not necessarily. I’m simply stating that OSI doesn’t typically take...adventurers who have a kill count,” He replied; “Also, I’ve never known a female vicar.”

Her jaw dropped and she grabbed her pillow to smack him with it;

“You went to prison! OSI will take people who have been to prison but not someone who killed somebody out of defense?” She interrogated.

He shrieked at the feeling of being hit in the face, but laughter bubbled out of his chest. The sound of him laughing at her caused her eyes to grow dark as she moved to straddle him. His hands were warm on the tops of her thighs as he gripped them ever so. 

“Might I remind you that I went as the vicar. Not an inmate. They’ve kept me around because I promised to fulfill a life of vicar duties as well as be a ‘good boy’ as I’ve heard you use that term.” He said.

“Mm. And how did that work out?” She asked with a seductive tone.

Her hips rocked nonchalantly and at a tantalizingly slow speed. The delicious friction making him throw his head back;

“I’m now one of the board’s most wanted outlaws and I’m in bed with a lawfully beautiful woman...so maybe I haven’t been as good as I promised.” He growled.

She snickered quietly, leaning down to kiss him. Just as her lips brushed his neck, however, ADA’s voice rang out in her quarters;

“Captain, I suggest that you have your temperature scanned to check for any more signs of hypothermia.” She offered.

She groaned at the interruption;

“ADA, I’m fine now.” She replied back, voice muffled from her lips on her vicar’s neck.

“She might have the right idea. It can’t hurt.” Max added in. 

“You want me to stop?” She asked drawing her head back; “Fine, I’ll go take my temperature.”

Max whimpered slightly at the loss of contact, regretting that he persuaded her to leave. She smirked as she exited the room;

“Hey, Max?” Her voice called from the doorway.

He raised a brow in response. She gave a wink as you left him in her room to return shortly;

“I expect you to be a good boy until I get back.”


End file.
